Wednesday, 30 May 2007

This had to be one of the most time consuming bits for me.
The inside edge is rough and I didn't realise it had to be ground back and filled with black gel coat filler. This took a while to figure out, then fill, file back, refill, file back, re..... you get the picture. The problem I had was getting the radius to follow the top edge. I eventually cut out a shape out of a plastic Evostick spreader and as I filled the gel coal I used it to form a continuous round edge.
I didn't get any pics as I was too focused on getting the bloody thing correct.

One tip for anyone, don't tackle this first like I did, do some smaller things with gel coat to get used to it. Mixing a large amount of gel I found near impossible not to get air bubbles trapped, which lead to pin holes as you sand and polish! :(

EDIT: (2012) A good tip someone on the club just mentioned was to get the correct combination of hardener - gel before attempting any repairs! e.g 1 teaspoon of gel, tested with 3, 4, 5 or 6 drops to find the correct mixture, allowing to set over night each time.

The edges are rough cut from GD so needed to be tidied up.
I used 2 bits of wood, top edge to run along the boot sill and a screw to score the line to be cut.Similar was done to the door areas but with the bottom edge of the wood on the sill.

Tuesday, 15 May 2007

The 3 oval holes at the front for oil cooler and brake vents were cut out with a Dremel. Cutting this way makes the cut edge facing in towards the body and well hidden.
Keep hold of the cut outs!
If you want to add a mesh behind the holes at a later date, you can use them to bend the mesh around. ;)